Harbaugh suited for Texas

Longtime University of Texas coach Mack Brown is rumored to be stepping down from the high-profile job, leaving an opening at one of the best college jobs in football. San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh came to the team after a successful stint with the Stanford Cardinal. Could the Texas job lure him away from the team he has brought to the Super Bowl?

Several reports, including from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, have suggested that the University of Texas will include Jim Harbaugh on its list of candidates once Mack Brown is out as coach.

The San Francisco 49ers’ wildly successful third-year coach was asked about it at his news conference Wednesday. He said: “I don’t ever talk about any jobs other than the one I have.”

Texas isn’t like many other college coaching jobs. Texas has one of the largest and most successful athletic departments in the NCAA, with football as the crown jewel. The Longhorn Network gives Texas incredible exposure in a state crazy about football that is rich with recruits. The state of Texas has more players at FBS schools than any other state.

This job not only comes with resources, but a challenge that Harbaugh could find irresistible. Texas has fallen out of the sport’s elite recently. The Longhorns haven’t been in a BCS bowl since 2010, when they lost to Alabama in the national championship.

Texas alumni have also not lived up to expectations in the NFL. A staggering 285 former Longhorns have made their ways to the NFL, but few stars have emerged from the Mack Brown era. Instead, Texas is known for high-profile flameouts like Vince Young and Cedric Benson. With experience as a head coach at the college and pro levels, Harbaugh is uniquely qualified to prepare players for the NFL.

It’s important to note that while Harbaugh didn’t say he wanted the job, he also didn’t say, “I’m with the Niners for life.” Yes, Harbaugh came close to a Super Bowl win last year and wants to keep trying.

But having the chance to rebuild Texas is a unique opportunity. Though we know that college sports is very big business, there’s still an element of school and team pride beyond what you might find in an NFL locker room, where the players are paid mercenaries.

Harbaugh’s the son of a long-time college coach, and he may crave that sort of environment. If so, there’s no better college job than Texas — and there’s no better hire the Longhorns could make.

But he shouldn’t go. Recruiting is an unsavory slog of a task that occupies way too much of a college coach’s time. The quality of life is better in the NFL.

So, too, is the quality of competition. To a guy as fiery as Harbaugh, that matters.